September Drinking Companion
St. Padre Pio is this months companion. As I write this later in the month than I had hoped to, I was reminded of his presence consistently in my life. September 23 is his day of remembrance, and for me personally it is the prelude to what I like to call my epiphany week.
To begin with a brief history of who this companion and patron was we go to Pietrelcina, Italy where the story began. Padre Pio was an ordinary Catholic priest during the 20th century. Born in 1887, ordained in 1907 and dying in 1968 his life became a modern miracle. Early in his priesthood, he began to bare the stigmata of Christ, the 5 wounds that Jesus suffered on Calvary. With this miraculous suffering brought miraculous healings and encounters.
Padre Pio was known for saying few words to the many visitors that would come, but he had a gift of intercession for others healing. These healings also included spiritual healings of great sinners who came to talk to Padre Pio through the sacrament of confession. At times it is said, the confessor would hold back sins committed and reading their heart, Padre Pio would let them know they are holding something back and they needed to share everything if they were to receive the full graces of Jesus in confession.
For me personally my mother was sending me little holy cards of Padre Pio in the summer of 2010 during a time when I was seeking answers to life. She had a devotion to him because a friend of hers had been touched by his relics, leading to a healing of her lung cancer shortly after. I had reached a point at this time where I truly began seeking an understanding of God’s existence, since I was tired of the vicious cycles in my life. I was coming to the realization, I must be the problem. With every bad choice I made, came the negative consequence of those choices and after 15+ years I wanted change, and a reason to live and love life as I saw others doing.
Unknowingly it was shortly after his feast day October 3, 2010 I began to find those answers reluctantly, but we will save that fun story for next month. After going to another healing mass September 23 in thanksgiving to his presence in my life, his cousin Father Pio Mandato brought a great thought to mind which aligned perfectly with this reflection. He said he saw a picture of “the padre” sitting in a chair with an empty chair next to him. He dreamed what he would say if he was sitting in that empty seat next to him. As I drink my coffee this morning, I will have that similar thought, what would I say? I know I was asking for spiritual healing that night inside. His reply through his cousin as he blessed me with the glove that bore the stigmata of St. Padre Pio, “Live for the Kingdom of God”. This I know is the truest way to find the peace, love and healing we all seek.
Picture was taken at St. Charles Borremeo in Sicklerville, N.J.